Scolari is going mad at the referee; he is clearly unhappy at the official, possibly for the penalty decision that cost his side the game.

Figo and Zidane - great friends, great players - swap shirts and embrace.

France celebrate as they make it through to their second World Cup final. They didn't make it easy for themselves with a distinctly average performance - fortunately, Portugal were utterly toothless in attack.

FULL-TIME: Zidane's penalty takes France in to a final against Italy after a scrappy 90 minutes in Munich.

GREAT CLAIM! Barthez comes out to claim Figo's cross from the right; great cheers from the France fans.

...Nervy moments for France as Ricardo comes up from the back to force another corner...

LATE CORNER! Valente's cross from the left is put behind at the back post by Abidal...

CHANCE! A loose ball falls to Meira, but the centre-back blasts high over the crossbar from the edge of the area.

Meira is playing as a centre-forward now for Portugal as they lump high balls to the edge of the penalty area.

France have got everyone back behind the ball as Portugal launch long balls forward to Postiga and Ronaldo.

Barthez claims a cross from the right from Figo; Portugal are starting to look a beaten side.

Makelele goes down under pressure from Postiga, winning his side a pressure-relieving free-kick, just outside their own penalty area.

Saha is booked for a scissor-challenge, ruling him out of a potential World Cup final. What a stupid tackle from the subtitute.

France are making a better job of seeing out this match; they are finally managing to put their foot on the ball and find a colleague with a pass.

Italy await the winners; France are five minutes from making the final in Berlin on Sunday.

Superb defending from Thuram as he prevents a corner when Postiga attacks him down the right.

FRANCE SUB: Saha comes on to replace Henry; some fresh legs up front for the final few minutes.

...but his centre is cleared at the near post. Poor delivery from the corner from Figo.

Portugal keep up the pressure as Figo wins his side another corner...

Carvalho becomes the first player booked this evening as he whacks Wiltord late in midfield; that means he will miss the final or third-place play-off.

Zidane and Henry haven't been able to influence the game at all in the second half; they haven't had the ball at their feet at all.

...Figo curls it in to the crowded penalty area, but Vieira climbs high to head clear.

Ronaldo wins a free-kick against Thuram, out on the left touchline; Meira and Carvalho trot forward and Figo prepares to send the free-kick in to the middle...

France are set up to look dangerous on the counter-attack, but they just can't keep hold of the ball; they are inviting all this pressure.

That really was a golden chance for Portugal to equalise; it was a horrible error from Barthez first of all, but all Figo had to do was send his header goalwards and Portugal would be level.

WHAT A CHANCE! Ronaldo's free-kick is fumbled horribly by Barthez, but Figo can only direct his header on to the roof of the net from five yards out.

Portugal win a free-kick when Ronaldo is fouled by Vieira; the youngster gets off his feet to take the set-piece...

ALMOST! A low cross from the left from Valente misses a couple of out-stretched Portuguese legs as they try and prod the ball past Barthez.

France are playing so deep; they are just inviting Portuguese pressure. Surely it's just a matter of time before they create a decent chance.

PORTUGAL SUB: Costinha is replaced by Postiga; Scolari brings on a striker as he uses his final substitute.

In truth, both sides have been very poor since the break; Portugal have had all the ball, but created absolutely nothing. France, meanwhile, haven't been able to keep the ball long enough to launch an attack of their own.

FRANCE SUB: Govou comes on to replace Ribery; both wide men have been replaced by Domenech now.

...but Zidane has come back and heads clear of Meira at the near post.

Ronaldo wins his side a corner. Deco sends it in to the middle...

Ronaldo has moved in to a centre-forward position since the introduction of Simao; it isn't the youngster's natural position, but he'll be willing, for certain.

France's attacks have become very infrequent since the break; they are really struggling to get out of their own half at the moment.

FRANCE SUB: Wiltord replaces Malouda; Malouda has been very quiet tonight. Wiltord should bring some experience and guile to the French counter-attacks.

PORTUGAL SUB: Simao comes on to replace Pauleta; Simao is a dangerous runner from the wide positions. Scolari will be hoping he can inject some pace in the Portuguese attacks.

Pauleta throws himself to the ground as he tries to get on the end of Figo's through-ball; no foul.

Portugal have had a lot of the ball in the second half, but apart from Pauleta's turn-and-shot, they haven't really threatened.

The last time these two sides met, France ran out comfortable 4-0 winners in a friendly played in 2001; France will take a single-goal win tonight, that's for sure. They have about half-an-hour to hold on.

Abidal takes a ball full in the face as he tries to block a cross; he stays down, and needs some treatment from the physio.

PORTUGAL SUB: Ferreira comes on to replace the injured Miguel; a straight swap at right-back for the Portuguese.

Miguel has come back on the field after receiving some treatment on a mystery injury. He signals that he wants to be replaced.

Portugal have plenty of attacking options on the bench, should Scolari decide he needs to get more support to the isolated Pauleta; Postiga has come off the bench regularly so far this tournament, and Simao is always a threat from the wing.

Portugal are furious that the referee didn't award them a free-kick as Miguel tried to get on the end of Pauleta's flick.

Miguel cuts inside from the right, finds Pauleta in the box, but can't quite get on the striker's flicked return pass.

There are lots of inter-club clashes out on the field tonight, including France's Gallas and Makelele facing Chelsea team-mates Carvalho and Maniche. This has been no love-fest, however; it seemed to get a little tetchy at times.

FRANCE BREAK! Ribery finds space to break down the left; he finds Zidane on the edge of the area, but his touch towards Henry, free on the right, is too heavy.

...but Thuram clears at the near post.

Ronaldo wins his side a corner when he runs at Sagnol down the left wing. Figo comes across to take the set-piece...

Portugal have certainly made the better start to the second half; they are dominating the possession and spending a lot of time in the France half.

SIDE NETTING! Pauleta spins inside the area and fires in a shot; it ripples the net, but the ball has passed the wrong side of the post.

France have got two great centre-backs in Thuram and Gallas, and Sagnol has been excellent all tournament; perhaps the weak-link which Portugal have got to attack is Abidal, at left-back. Ronaldo could find some joy if he can run at him at pace.

Abidal is caught in the face by a stray boot from Figo; after a minute's treatment, he's okay and play goes on.

France, I'm told, have the second-oldest team ever to play in a World Cup semi-final; they have an average age of over 30. The only other team older than that was Brazil, in 1962. It will be interesting to see if they tire as the game goes on.

FIERCE DRIVE! Ribery fires in a shot from the edge of the area, but Ricardo gets two strong hands behind it and punches clear.

GOOD EFFORT! Henry launches a one-man counter-attack; he feigns to play in Ribery before cutting back on to his left foot to drive in a shot, but Ricardo gets enough on it to squeeze the ball around the post.

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is attempting to become the first to win the tournament with two different countries; Big Phil guided Brazil to the title in 2002, and is also bidding to become the first foreign coach to lift the trophy. He has a massive 45 minutes in front of him if he is to realise those goals.

Portugal kick off the second half. France took a long time to come out of the tunnel after half-time, and their opponents weren't happy about it at all.

HALF-TIME: Zidane's penalty gives France a half-time lead after a tight, scrappy 45 minutes.

Although the crowd haven't been particularly impressed with Ronaldo, he has certainly looked the most threatening player on the pitch in this first-half.

GREEDY! Ronaldo runs through the middle; he has Pauleta inside him and is being forced wide by Thuram, but opts instead to shoot, blasting well wide.

Pauleta is really struggling on his own up front; he is up against two really strong centre-backs in Gallas and Thuram, and has had absolutely nothing from them.

Figo offers a hand-of-friendship to his old mate Zidane after a sliding challenge leaves the ageing maestro on his knees.

Ribery goes between two defenders as he tries to cut in from the right wing; no free-kick, to Ribery's amazement.

Figo's corner is bent in to the penalty area, but Barthez goes down under a push from Ronaldo; free-kick France.

GOOD RUN! Ronaldo does well to cut in from the left and fire in a shot; Thuram has to come across to block. Portugal corner.

Replays are showing that Ronaldo fell desperately theatrically when he was looking for that penalty a moment or two ago.

...who waves play-on! Scolari and the Portuguese bench go mental on the sidelines.

PENALTY CLAIM! Ronaldo goes down in the penalty area as he tries to head home a cross from the right; all the players look to the referee...

GOOD STRIKE! Maniche, never one to turn down a shooting chance, fires in another fierce shot from distance, but Barthez claims at the second attempt.

Goalkeeper FBarthez breaks Maxime Bossis' French record as most-capped World Cup player this evening; it is his 16th appearance in World Cup finals.

GOOD TAKE! Miguel does well to get to the by-line and clip a cross to the back post, but Barthez does excellently to claim under pressure.

France take the lead in what has been a very scrappy match thus far, and Zidane's remarkable return to form continues.

GOAL! Zidane keeps his nerve to belt a low shot into the bottom corner; Ricardo goes the right way, but can't keep it out.

Zidane places the ball on the spot...

PENALTY! Henry flicks the ball through the legs of Carvalho inside the area and falls over the defenders boot - penalty says the referee!

Carvalho slices his clearance as he tries to belt away a low cross, but Henry can't capitalise at the back post.

There are players from both sides walking the disciplinary tightrope this evening; for Portugal, Maniche, Nuno Valente, Ricardo Carvalho, Ricardo and Luis Figo will be suspended for the final if booked; Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane, Louis Saha, Willy Sagnol and Lilian Thuram are in the same situation for France.

Domenech gestures that Ronaldo dives as the winger goes down in front of him near the touchline. Scolari and Ronaldo disagree.

QUICK FEET, WASTED CROSS! Henry does well to work some space after beating Miguel with his quick feet, but his prodded cross is straight at Ricardo.

Miguel's chipped pass over the top is too strong for Pauleta; Barthez collects.

Zidane goes down on the edge of the penalty area under a challenge from Carvalho; no free-kick says the referee.

Neither of these sides were considered among the favourites for the trophy back in December when the draw for the groups were made; you could have got 12-1 on France, and a massive 20-1 on Portugal to lift the trophy.

The game is very scrappy at the moment; no-one can get their foot on it in midfield, especially for France, who are really struggling to put anything meaningful together.

Figo and Ronaldo have swapped wings for the moment; Ronaldo is now down the right, attacking full-back Abidal.

BLOCKED! Valente blocks Henry's shot on the edge of the area; that is about the first time Henry has managed to find a yard of space in which to work this evening.

A study of the recent form seems to suggest Portugal might be favourites this evening; they are now unbeaten in 17 competitive matches, and have conceded just one goal in their five matches so far this tournament.

After a really bright start, the tempo has just dropped a little; both sides have become a bit cagey.

France have a very good record against tonight's opponents; the two sides have met on 21 previous occasions, with France winning 15 and Portugal five. Only twice have they met competitively, both in the semi-finals of the European Championship, and both resulted in extra-time wins for France.

Play gets back underway as Figo trots back on to the pitch.

The players take on some water on the sidelines as Figo is stretchered from the field for further treatment.

Figo is down after colliding with Vieira as he fired in that shot from distance; he requires some treatment from the physio.

WORTH A POP! Figo cuts in from the right and fires in a left-foot shot from 25 yards; Barthez gets down to save.

...but the referee spots some pushing as Pauleta climbed at the back post; free-kick to France.

Figo forces Portugal's first corner of the evening; he waits to take whilst his centre-backs trot forward...

GOOD CROSS! Abidal's low cross is begging to be prodded in from close range, but Henry doesn't act decisively enough and the ball runs clear.

Both sides are playing with a lone striker this evening; Henry and Pauleta are having to do a lot of hard-work in these early stages.

There is a sizable rivalry between these two sides since they met at the semi-final stage of the 2000 European Championships, when Zidane scored a controversial penalty with three minutes left in sudden-death extra time to give France a 2-1 win; three Portuguese players received long bans for protesting too vociforously at the Austrian referee.

RUBBISH! Figo tries to feed a pass in to the run of Pauleta inside the penalty area, but he gets his angles wrong and makes it easy for Barthez.

Pauleta can't quite get on Carvalho's through-ball; Barthez collects.

GREAT CROSS! Gallas and Thuram are forced to make a desperate challenge to prevent Pauleta from reaching Figo's low cross.

There is a magnificent atmosphere inside this stadium tonight; one of five new stadia built for the World Cup, the 59,000 capacity, £190million Allianz Arena is absolutely jumping.

OOH! Ronaldo's neat back-heel gives Maniche a shooting chance; the bustling midfielder takes a touch before driving in a shot which Barthez is relieved to watch whistle over his bar.

...but Zidane's corner is cleared inside the six-yard box.

ALMOST! Henry's flick on the edge of the area almost plays Zidane in to space. A poor clearance gifts France their first corner...

POOR PASS! Deco has the chance to release Pauleta through the middle, but his pass lacks pace and Thuram intercepts.

Robery crosses from the right, but it is over the head of Henry and easy for Miguel to clear.

Just like last night in the first semi-final, we've had a nice start to his match; both teams seem committed to attacking, open football.

GOOD SAVE! Deco breaks through the middle; he opts to shoot from the edge of the area, but Barthez dives full-length to palm away his low effort.

Midfield playmaker Deco and holding-man Costinha, who missed the quarter-final victory over England through suspension, are back for Portugal; the midfield should be fiercely contested tonight, with Vieira and Makelele in there as well.

Remarkably, Ronaldo is being booed by the fans at every touch; he hasn't won many friends during the course of this tournament.

That was a good early chance for France; Malouda will be disappointed not to have got his shot on target and worked the keeper.

EARLY CHANCE! Malouda gets him inside the full-back as he sprints on to a ball over the top, but he drags his left-foot shot wide of the far post.

By the end of the night, they will be a big party on Paris? Champs-Elysees or Lisbon?s Avenida da Liberdade. Stick with us to find out where the action will be...

France kick off the action.

The anthems are over and done with - both sang with lung-bursting national pride from players and fans alike - and we're about ready for kick off in Munich.

Here we go! The players come out on to the pitch, to a rapturous welcome from the fans.

The players are waiting for the signal to emerge from the tunnel; former Real Madrid team-mates Figo and Zidane embrace briefly as they prepare to lead out their sides.

Hello, welcome to our coverage of the second semi-final at the 2006 FIFA World Cup: it's Portugal against France, from Munich.